Kim Jong Un Says Nuclear Weapons to be Deployed to Navy as U.S., Allies Start New Drills
Associated Press
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country's navy would become “a component of the state nuclear deterrence,” state media said Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Japan held a trilateral naval exercise to deal with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats. The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been separately holding summer bilateral exercises since last week. North Korea views such U.S.-involved training as an invasion rehearsal, though Washington and its partners maintain their drills are defensive.
Biden Brokers New Defense Commitments Between Japan, South Korea
Bryant Harris and Noah Robertson | Defense News
U.S. President Joe Biden brokered a series of trilateral defense initiatives with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David on Friday as the two U.S. allies move past decades of strained relations. The agreements between the three countries include annual trilateral military exercises, ballistic missile defense cooperation and shoring up the security of defense supply chains. The U.S. has worked to reconcile Japan and South Korea for well over a decade as it seeks to bolster its alliances in Asia to counter China and contain North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Increasing Evidence That The US Air Force’s Nuclear Mission May Be Returning To UK Soil
MATT KORDA & HANS KRISTENSEN | Federation of American Scientists
New U.S. Air Force budgetary documents strongly imply that the United States Air Force is in the process of re-establishing its nuclear weapons mission on UK soil. The Air Force’s FY 2024 budgetary justification package, dated March 2023, notes the planned construction of a “surety dormitory” at RAF Lakenheath, approximately 100 kilometers northeast of London. The “surety dormitory” was also briefly mentioned in the Department of Defense’s testimony to Congress in March 2023, but with no accompanying explanation. “Surety” is a term commonly used within the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to refer to the capability to keep nuclear weapons safe, secure, and under positive control.
Saudi Arabia Eyes Chinese Bid for Nuclear Plant
Summer Said, Sha Hua and Dion Nissenbaum | WSJ
Saudi Arabia is weighing a Chinese bid to build a nuclear-power plant in the kingdom, Saudi officials familiar with the matter said, in a move designed to pressure the Biden administration to compromise on its conditions for U.S. help in the kingdom’s quest for nuclear power. The U.S. has said American nuclear aid is contingent on the Saudis agreeing to not enrich their own uranium or mine their own uranium deposits in the kingdom—nonproliferation conditions not sought by China, which has been seeking to strengthen its influence in the Middle East, to the consternation of Washington.
Young Climate Activist Tells Greenpeace to Drop ‘Old-fashioned’ Anti-nuclear Stance
Helena Horton | Guardian
An 18-year-old climate activist has called for Greenpeace to drop its “old-fashioned and unscientific” campaign against nuclear power in the EU. In April, the environmental campaign group announced it would appeal against the EU Commission’s decision to include nuclear power in its classification system for sustainable finance. This “taxonomy” is designed as a guide for private investors wanting to fund green projects, aiming to boost environmental investment.
America’s Trumpiest Court Just put iItself in Charge of Nuclear Safety
Ian Millhiser | Vox
Three different provisions of federal law give the NRC the power to “issue licenses” permitting facilities to store different forms of nuclear materials. These provisions are broadly worded. One permits the NRC to license such facilities for any use “the Commission determines to be appropriate to carry out the purposes” of a broader atomic energy law. Another permits the agency to license such facilities for “any” use “approved by the Commission as an aid to science or industry.”Nevertheless, Ho and his fellow Republican-appointed colleagues conclude that the NRC’s decision to license the Andrews County facility was illegal for at least three different reasons. The premise of Ho’s opinion, in other words, is that he has somehow uncovered multiple flaws in a longstanding legal regime that have all somehow escaped the notice of the rest of the federal judiciary for nearly 20 years.